Brandon Jennings is going to bypass his freshman year in college to play professionally in Europe. Jennings wasn't eligible for the NBA draft because the league has a rule stating players must be a year removed from high school.

By Steve Wieberg and Jim Halley, USA TODAY

TUCSON  Is Brandon Jennings blazing a new trail to the NBA?

Forced to wait a year before entering the league's annual draft, the gifted young point guard says he'll spend that time playing professionally in Europe rather than in college, an unprecedented move that will be watched by other underage prospects and officials in the NBA and college basketball.

Succeed, and others are almost certain to follow.

Fail, and Jennings risks becoming a footnote.

"I think he'll do very well," says Louisville coach Rick Pitino, who spent Wednesday monitoring the Reebok All American Camp in Philadelphia. "But with other kids, if they don't last long, then their (basketball-playing) life is over. It could be a big gamble but, in his case, it's a worthwhile gamble."

Says a less optimistic Doug Gottlieb, the former Oklahoma State guard who played overseas and then turned ESPN analyst, "I'm not sure anybody is ready to go over there as an 18- or 19-year-old."

Jennings, a 6-2 lefty deemed the nation's best schoolboy point guard coming out of Oak Hill Academy in Mouth of Wilson, Va., confirmed his decision Tuesday night along with his attorney, Jeff Valle. Jennings had committed to attend and play at Arizona, but his eligibility was in doubt pending the results of his third attempt to earn a qualifying score on the SAT.

The NBA isn't an option until 2009 because of the league's rule holding players out of its draft until they're 19 and a year out of high school. Jennings, an all-USA selection, turns 19 on Sept. 23.

Traditionally, that year-in-waiting is spent in college — even though players might have little to no academic enthusiasm. Jennings' reroute through Europe uncovers an alternative.

"It gives him a chance to make some money and see a different side of basketball overseas," says Oderah Anosike, a Staten Island, N.Y., senior-to-be participating in the Reebok camp in Philadelphia. "(And) it's a good move for guys who are highly rated and who don't like school."

Donn Nelson, the Dallas Mavericks' president of basketball operations and general manager and one of the NBA's most internationally connected executives, likes the point guard's moxie.

"It's a brave undertaking," he says. "I don't know if it's about the grades or financial pressures or what have you, but a young man who's willing to do that … step out of the box and try something like that, I have to take my hat off to him. I think others in the league would look at it the same way."

Nelson predicts Jennings will benefit from the unrestricted practice time and higher level of competition in Europe. "Generally speaking, if you want to be good, go where the real competition is," Nelson says. "Playing in Italy, Spain, Greece, Turkey or France — in those really good A leagues — you're playing against pros. In college, you might only get a pro or two or maybe three a night."

Longtime shoe company executive Sonny Vaccaro, acting as an adviser to Jennings, says he has been in contact with "numerous" teams in Europe, Israel and Russia since Jennings' family contacted him a few weeks ago to gauge interest overseas. In the 24 hours after the player's decision was made known Tuesday night, Vaccaro said, shoe and soda company representatives also have been in touch regarding potential endorsement deals.

Vaccaro has neither reservations about Jennings' decision nor doubts about its impact.

"He's opened the floodgates," he says. "This is unmistakably a groundbreaking decision. Naysayers are going to say 10 years from now, 'That kid from Compton (Calif.) did this.' "

Says Jennings' Oak Hill coach, Steve Smith: "This is a business decision. That's the way he looks at it. He might be wiser than people think. … He's going to get a shoe deal by the end of the summer. People think he's not going to make much money. He'll make more on a shoe deal than on a contract. If he goes to college, he's not going to make anything. Brandon wants to play, and he wants to get paid to play. Who are we to say it's right or wrong?"

Others are more cautious.

There are questions and concerns about a teenager making the competitive and cultural leap to European pro basketball. "You have to understand," Pitino says. "You're going over to Europe, on foreign soil, where people don't speak your language. It becomes a job. It's not college."

ESPN's Jay Bilas, who played professionally in Italy, says even well-traveled elite high school players aren't necessarily prepared for another continent: "It was a totally different culture, and I was 22 years old and had a little bit of experience behind me. It's a lot harder when you're 18 years old ... and you're playing against men and expected to carry a professional load. I'm not saying the kid can't do it. But he's still a young man."

Cautions Gottlieb: "So much of basketball is being in just the right situation. Having the right coach who is willing to work with you. Are you playing for the right team that will understand you are a rookie point guard? Do you get along with other players? Do you get along with people in the town? Do you adjust culturally?

"I think it's interesting. It could be really, really bad for all parties or really, really good for European basketball and give people the understanding how hard it is to succeed as a young player."

NCAA President Myles Brand says this is evidence that athletes need to concentrate on academics.

"We wish Mr. Jennings well," Brand said in a statement. "He's made his decision, and college basketball at Arizona and elsewhere will move on. The most important point to be made about the NBA rule, which the NCAA had no role in making, is not where high school basketball athletes decide to play, but that they can't ignore their high school academic work and expect to play college ball."

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